Silver Lake Park

A GREENSTREET BLOOMS IN MIDDLE VILLAGE, QUEENS

Photo by Spencer (Flasher) Tucker

In 1994, Parks pioneered a new way of looking at the streetscape.
Concrete medians, once eyesores, took on new meaning. The way Michelangelo discerned
form in a lump of a marble, Parks’ foresters saw gardens hidden in traffic triangles.
In every borough, they mapped and planted greenstreets. Today more than 1,700
miniature gardens bloom. Collaboration enables the Greenstreets program to exist.
The Department of Transportation allows Parks to plant on their properties,
and park supporters make good on their advocacy by committing to care for greenstreets
on a daily basis. This season, the Juniper Park Civic Association adopted agreenstreet at the corner of 58th Avenue and 82nd
Street in Queens. They are one of more than 200 community organizations that
have adopted greenstreets throughout the city. Parks, in turn, maintains sites
weekly.

Designer Brad (Straight) Romaker enlivened the
site’s 700 square feet with plants that accent neighborhood gardens. He added
day lilies and flowering shrubs as well as a weeping cherry tree, blue hydrangea,
sedum, and juniper. The design was celebrated at a ribbon cutting ceremony on
Friday, October 12, 2001 at which Richard (Ricardo) Murphy, Queens
Borough Commissioner; RobertHolden, President of the Juniper
Valley Park Civic Association & Vice Chair of Community Board 5; and Bram
(Dogwood) Gunther, Deputy Director of Central Forestry addressed guests.
One featured audience member was neighborhood resident, CarlBerner.
Berner, three weeks shy of 100 years old, was a founding member of the Juniper
Park Civic Association and a legendary neighbor, who even now, can be found
on his friends’, adding shingles and plugging leaks.

One hundred years ago, goat herders brought their animals to
the site that is now a greenstreet. Accordingly, the land was assigned the nickname,
Nanny Goat Hill. In time, the Goat Hill was paved and became a busy intersection
in Middle Village. Greenstreets has restored plantlife to the goat hill. If
any animals pass through today, they’ll be pleasantly surprised.

ONE PARKIE’S SUMMER VACATION

Some people sleep in late. They visit the beach. They eat out.
For her summer vacation, Anna (Glen Ridge) Carey walked
500 miles from France to Spain along a route paved by 11th century
Catholics. She then co-managed a shelter for other travelers along the Camino,
or the Way of St. James.The Camino originated as a Catholic pilgrimage
to the holy site of Santiago de Compostella in Spain. Carey became interested
in the pilgrimage while studying abroad in Spain during college. In the summer
of 2000, she walked the first 500 miles of the Way of St. James. This summer,
she completed the journey, walking every day for one month from Le Puy, France
to Roncesvalles, Spain. Along the paths are hundreds of shelters. This summer,
Carey ran an 88-bed shelter with a partner. An avid walker (she circumnavigated
Manhattan island last spring), and becoming more so all the time, Carey plans
to walk another 500-mile route next summer.

CHANGE YOUR HEALTH BENEFITS BEFORE NOVEMBER 15

For Parkies who wish to make changes to their health benefits
plan, now is the time. Until November 15, employees may transfer into any health
plan for which they are eligible, or add or drop the Optional Rider coverage,
or add or drop dependents in their present plan. For information, consult the
2001 Summary Program Description Booklet or visit www.nyc.gov/html/olr. Please
send completed forms to the Benefits Office on the Eighth Floor of Arsenal West.
In the Arsenal, Hedi (Headlight) Piel has information and additional
booklets. She can be reached at (212) 360-3442.

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT

(Monday, October 17, 1988)

A DOUBLEHEADER OF CEREMONIES

IN TWO STATEN ISLAND PARKS

Good things came in twos on Staten Island last Friday, as community
residents enjoyed a day of double Parks doings the ground breaking for the $1.5
million reconstruction of Silver Lake Tennis House at Silver Lake Park, and
the dedication of new maintenance equipment at Clove Lakes Park.

Commissioner Henry J. Stern joined Staten Island Borough President
Ralph J. Lamberti and Staten Island Parks Commissioner Joseph M. Curran, parkies
and members of the local, 75-piece I.S. 61 band, which played tunes from "The
Star Spangled Banner" to "The Second Connecticut March" to Whitney
Houston’s "How Will I Know."